"Hot Tub Time Machine" IRL

The Cast of the JTMF's 10th Anniversary Production of "Jeffrey"

That's one of the official publicity photos (click image to embiggen) for the James Tolin Memorial Fund's 10th Anniversary production of Paul Rudnick's Jeffery. Uncle P and Dear D are both there, along with two members of the cast of Hairspray; three other JTMF alumni and one other new member of the company (he-he-he - I said "member"). I'll leave it up to you to sort out who's who (if you really want to know names, visit the JTMF blog tomorrow). 

Ten years ago, the cast of the first JTMF (then known as 'The Friends and Family of James Tolin') production of Jeffrey gathered at that very location (and in that very hot tub) for a Memorial Day party that quickly devolved into a night of drunken debauchery. The party's host, who played Jeffrey in that production (and who will act as MC for this year's event), once again graciously lent his gorgeous home in Mill Hill (Trenton, NJ's "gayborhood") for our publicity photo shoot/video shoot last night and the evening (I am happy to say) once again devolved into something just short of an all-out bacchanal. Along with the eight cast members you see in the photo, our entire production team was there to take part in the photos and the video interviews that were conducted. Martinis; beer; sangria and SoCo flowed freely and often and I was honestly amazed to wake up this morning without a nasty hangover (lots of water before bed and plenty of sleep were key). 

Now, I don't want you to get the wrong impression. Over the last nine years, the JTMF has raised over $50K for AIDS, Arts Education and Anti-Suicide/Anti-Bullying charities. We've produced 9-LGBT related comedies and two holiday radio-plays; sold countless items in our silent auctions and created a real family of performers, artists and technicians who love working together and stand behind all of our various causes. In my 35+ years of doing theatre, nothing has been as artistically or spiritually satisfying as the JTMF events. Oh, we may carry on a bit but in the end, each and every member of this amazing company knows why we do what we do and the end result is never anything less than fabulous.

If you would like to attend our 10th Anniversary Gala (as a certain Jeep Guy will be doing), you can order tickets online here. If you are unable to attend, but would like to make a safe, secure donation via PayPal, you can do so here. Of course, we'd much rather you join us for the show but we'll take what we can get. 100% of our ticket sales benefit the Open Arms Foundation; The James Tolin Memorial Scholarship at Mercer County Community College and the Tyler Clementi Foundation.

Hope to see you there!

More, anon.

Prospero

The Gayest Ad You'll See This Week ( Probably NSFW Version)

Advertising in the age of the Internet has become very specific. On-line commercials and ads are targeted to to all sorts of people with all sorts of interests. Just look at the ads on your Facebook timeline. Even TV advertising has gotten more and more specific.

Los Angeles designer John Saint-Denis is known for his line of home furnishings, marketed toward upscale gay men with lots of readily disposable income (i.e. NOT Uncle P - my income has become less and less disposable, lately, Hell, I'm lucky if I get to see a new movie in a theater every couple of months, anymore). 

Anyway, Saint-Denis has a new line of 'masculine' candles and has commissioned the video below to sell them to gay men who have more money than brains. I first came across this video today at Kenneth in the (212) and again on Towleroad. I was at the Day Job and thought I should probably wait to view it until I got home. While there isn't anything particularly risque about it (a bare bum is as racy as it gets), you may not want to view it at work, either.

In any event, the depiction of rich, hunky guys living in palazzos may convince some morons to buy these over-priced  ($45.00 each!!) candles. Truth be told, Uncle P (and just about anyone else) can get just as romantic with a couple dozen tea-lights from the Dollar Store. Bitch, please...

If you have purchased these or any other similarly priced candles, I urge to get your priorities straight and use that money instead to help feed starving children in the Appalachians; support AIDS and/or Equality charities; raise awareness about human rights or just go take the oven, because you have no idea what it means to be a decent human being. 

Ooh... did I really just write that? Yes. Yes, I did.

What the hell is wrong with people who think a jar of scented wax is worth $45.00? $45.00 barely fills my gas tank and some asshat designer thinks a scented candle with his name on it is worth that much? If there is a hell, John Saint-Denis (and anyone who spends $45.00 for one of his candles) has a very special hot wax seat waiting for him there.

More, anon.

Prospero

In the Heat of the Night

Yes, They Got this Idea from Me

It is 11:20 PM here on the East Coast of the U.S. and it's probably 85 degrees with high humidity and even sitting with two fans blowing on me, I am sweating like crazy. The Midwest and Northeast have been in the grip of an early heatwave all weekend long. For me, the 'Unofficial Start of Summer' has turned into the Official Start of Misery. of course, living in a valley doesn't help. The humidity just gets trapped, lingering around and making everyone miserable.

Those who know Uncle P well, know that I am a sweater (no, not this, which is referred to as a 'jumper' in the U.K. - who knows why). I am fine if it's just hot; I may glisten a bit or get darkened underarms. But add humidity and I am just a nasty, sweaty mess who may as well be a visual joke in an "Airplane!" movie. It's uncomfortable and embarrassing. People actually stare in horror as water literally pours down my face, soaking my shirts and making me look like some kind of insane, drowned rat. I am actually considering Botox injections in my forehead and scalp to alleviate the problem. 

Of course, to add insult to injury, my main home AC unit refuses to turn on. I don't know if it's the unit itself, or the dedicated 220v outlet (yes, the breaker is on), so I don't know whether to call an HVAC guy or an electrician. So the ridiculous combination of late-May heat and humidity led to a rather inactive holiday weekend. I did go out to breakfast with K, Q and Dale this morning, though I promptly returned home to sit and veg out in front of the boob tube, while three fans worked to keep me as dry as possible. Thank goodness I added premium channels to my cable last week. At least I managed to keep my self entertained. And I know it's genetic. My maternal grandmother could stand naked in a blizzard and still perspire.I have been this way all my life and before you suggest it, I am not diabetic nor do I have any of the other conditions or diseases associated with excessive perspiration. It's just the unluck of the draw...

If the rest of the summer is anything like this past weekend, I'll probably be a dried-out husk by late July, having rendered all by bodily fluids into a disgusting, sweaty puddle long before my birthday. Damn! I really wanted to see The Dark Knight Rises, too. Maybe my friends will be kind enough to prop my mummified corpse in a corner of the theater when they go to see it.

More, anon.
Prospero

Memorial Day

A life-long pacifist (if I were religious, I'd probably be a Quaker), I've never understood man's inhumanity to man. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the sacrifices of those who serve our country and keep it safe from the various madmen who populate the world.

My maternal grandfather, his brother and my father's uncle all served during WWII. My mother's older brother served during the Korean War and her younger brother served in Viet Nam. All five of these brave men are gone now, though none of them as the result of the wars in which they fought. Still, they risked their lives defending America and for that, I am grateful. 

Lately, it seems that there is always someone waiting in the wings to be the next Hitler; Stalin; Mao; Ho Chi Min; Kim Jong Il or Osama bin Laden. The thing about villains is - they don't think they are villains. Most of them are ordinary men who, for whatever reason, have formed some twisted idea of how they think the world should be and then try to impose that idea on everyone else. Villains think the end always justifies the means, no matter how horrific the means or the end are in reality.

As an actor, it's always fun to find the justification for a villain's actions. Playing the villain is always preferable to playing the hero, if only to find that justification and use it to create the character. One of the basic tenets of acting is trying to discover what a character wants, why he or she wants it and how he or she goes about attaining it.

In the real world, there is never justification for mass murder and the suppression of basic human rights, no matter what the intended end. Since the dawn of civilization, men have tried to rule the world, while others have fought to stop them. A strong military has always been a necessary evil in order to protect a society's ideals. It is a very sad fact of life and one of mankind's many flaws.

Since the mid-1700's, Americans have laid down their lives to protect the freedoms that our Democracy provides. I may hate war and violence, but I hate oppression and tyranny more.

This weekend, please take a moment to reflect on what Memorial Day really is about. If you know or are related  to a veteran, take a moment to thank him or her for all they have done to preserve peace and protect the freedoms we often take for granted.

More, anon.
Prospero

One Movie at a Time, Or: Turning Mom into a Superhero Fan

If you haven't figured it out by now, Uncle P is a big Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Geek. Of course, that includes Superhero comics and movies. As a child, I was Batman for Halloween three years in a row. For most of my life, my mother has loved to remind how I would tie a towel around my neck while riding my bike through he neighborhood, pretending to be Batman.

Admittedly, I am a DC Guy. Batman; Superman; Aquaman; Wonder Woman and Green Arrow have always been my go-to supes. Though I must admit that Bryan Singer's X-Men films gave me new insight into DC's rival, Marvel. Spider-Man non-withstanding, the DC heroes always appealed to me more as a kid. But as I've aged, the flawed super humans of Marvel have earned my admiration, as well. I have (shamefully) yet to see The Avengers (something I hope to correct over this holiday weekend), but I did see and love last year's entry into the series, Captain America.

Two weeks ago, Verizon offered me a special package and I couldn't resist adding a few premium channels for the first time since I switched providers.. I now get Showtime; The Movie Channel; Cinemax and Epix as part of my programing, along with a few other new basic channels at a reduced rate for next two years. Today, Epix aired Captain America and I couldn't help but record it and show it to my mother, who I knew would love it. We watched it together tonight, and as I explained how Cap figured into The Avengers:

"Wait. Howard Stark is Iron Man?"

 "No, he's Iron Man's father." 

"So how does Captain America end up part of the Avengers if he's fighting the Red Skull in the 40's?"

"Just watch... you'll see."

Mom loved the movie (especially when she recognized actors and characters from Iron Man and other movies) and she was particularly upset when Bucky Barnes met his end and Steve Rogers endied up missing out on the girl of his dreams. "One kiss? That's all he gets? No fair!"

Don't worry, Mom. Cap will come into play again. Maybe this time next year I'll show you The Avengers and it will all make sense. Hopefully, you will have seen Thor and The Incredible Hulk by then. 

More, anon.
Prospero

Give Me $30M and I'll Scare the Crap Out of You

Sorry about the delay. I started this post very late and then decided I needed to think about it some more.

Anyway... An actor friend and I have been trying to plan a Man Date for some time now. We both love horror films and decided that we must see see Dario Argento's Dracula 3D together. The movie is currently showing at Cannes, where it has received wildly mixed reviews. I sent Jimmy a link to a viciously bad one and he sent me a link to a glowing one. He also mentioned a documentary about the making of Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining, a film Uncle P really doesn't like very much at all (and I've said so here, before). And I'll tell you why.

Stephen King's third published novel caught me completely off guard when I first read it back in 1977. The story of an alcoholic playwright who takes a job as the winter caretaker of a Colorado hotel and is consequently driven mad by the many ghosts who inhabit it, The Shining was the first novel I ever read that actually gave me goosebumps. Jack, Wendy and Danny Torrence were a family about whom King made you care about and then fear for. When it was announced that none other than the great Stanley Kubrick was making the film version, I was practically ecstatic. And then Kubrick blew it. 

Woefully miscast (with the exception of Scatman Crothers as the cook, Dick Halloran) and with so many changes to and deviations from the source material as to be practically unrecognizable, Kubrick's film actually angered me when I first saw it. In the novel, a sober Jack Torrence is a reasonable and likeable fellow, who slowly descends into madness thanks to the machinations of the malevolent forces that haunt the hotel. In the hands of Jack Nicholson (who by then had already established a film persona), Jack starts out pretty crazy and his escalation into full madness is hardly shocking or surprising. Jack's wife Wendy, a strong self-aware woman in the book, comes off as a wimpy nerd in Shelly Duvall's performance. And the less said about the very annoying Danny Lloyd, the better.  As for Kubrick and Diane Johnson's screenplay, don't get me started. I understand that the technology for rendering a believable living  topiary garden wasn't available in 1979, but the hedge maze isn't really a very good substitute. And what about the roque mallets; the wasps' nest; the pornographic clock; the faulty boiler and all the back-stories of the hotel's former guests? Gone, gone, gone. Instead, we are given unexplained glimpses of things that happened (the dog-masked fellator; the woman in the bathtub; the twins). In the book, all of these characters are given credence for their inclusion in the story. In Kubrick's film, they are merely weird things to look at, which have no bearing on the plot. Kubrick even went so far as to completely change the ending; SPOILER ALERT killing Halloran and leaving Jack to freeze to death in the maze. In the book, Jack (an unrecognizable monster after repeated bashing his own face with a roque mallet) dies as the hotel explodes from the long-ignored boiler in the basement.

I know plenty of people who love this movie. Not one of them has ever read the book. Everyone I know who has read the book, doesn't really like the movie, either. Even King doesn't like the movie and has said that Kubrick drove him crazy while filming, often phoning in the middle of the night to discuss odd details or strange ideas he wanted to include. Objectively, as a movie on it's own, I won't deny that Kubrick's film is brilliant. It has several iconic moments and images. But it's just not very true to King's terrifying novel in any number of ways.

In 1997, director (and friend of King's) Mick Garris made a two-part TV movie of The Shining starring Stephen Weber, Rebecca De Mornay and Melvin Van Peebles. While Garris' version is holds closer to the novel than Kubrick's, the limits of television kept him from making a truly frightening version of the novel. 

The budget for Kubrick's version (according to IMDb) was around $22M. Adjusted for inflation, that's probably somewhere near $100M today. Garris' 1997 budget was $25M. I know and love this novel. I've read it probably five or six times. It's probably my third favorite novel of all time. So here's my challenge - give me $30M, a cast of unknowns and final edit, and I promise you I could make a version of The Shining that is truer to the source and scarier than any piece of crap that a hack like Oren Pelli could ever hope to make. 

I'm not bragging. I'm just saying.

More, anon.
Prospero

Reprising a Role

Rehearsals for the James Tolin Memorial Fund's 10 Anniversary production of Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey  are well under way and I couldn't be more thrilled to be a part of yet another amazing cast. Of course, finally getting to act with my Dear D is just a bonus. After directing him in 11 shows over the past 8 years, it's actually wonderful to be acting alongside him, for a change.

I've reprised roles exactly three times in the past 35+ years I've been acting. The first time I reprised a role was Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors, a show I love but never need to do again.

The next time I reprised a role was Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet in a production I also directed. Trust me, I'll never direct myself in a show again. Nor should any actor/director attempt to do so. It ends up being a nightmare. And while that second production of R&J had many, many cans of worms that should remain sealed forever and ever, it provided Uncle P with more life lessons than any show I'd ever been part of, before or since. Those reading this who were part of that particular production know what I'm talking about, while those who weren't, really don't want to know. I just kept reminding myself that "they can't all be gems."

Now I am again playing Sterling in Jeffrey (played by Patrick Stewart in the film version), the part I played in the very first JTMF show 10 years ago. And for the first time, reprising a role is proving to be a joy.

In 2003, "The Friends and Family of James Tolin" put  together a show, a silent auction and a gala reception in just 4 short weeks. It was insane; frantic; emotional and amazing and it led to 11 other productions which have raised over $50K for AIDS, Arts Education and Anti-Bullying/Suicide Prevention charities. The JTMF shows have been both the most artistically and spiritually rewarding productions of my long theatrical career. 

This summer's event will be JTMF's last "gala fundraiser." The work involved in producing these events have left all us at the JTMF exhausted and frustrated. Fundraising in the current economy is not an easy thing. JTMF will continue to produce shows and donate the proceeds to our beneficiaries, just without the extras. After Jeffrey, our next production will be in the fall of 2013, when we will present a staged radio version of Orson Welle's War of the Worlds. I can't wait to get my hands on a theremin* for that one.

If you are so inclined to join us for our last Gala, tickets are now on sale here. If you are unable to attend, but would like to make a donation via PayPal, please visit our website.

If you aren't familiar with Jeffrey, here's the trailer for the 1995 film version, starring Stephen Weber:

*I'll write about my obsession with both the instrument and the man who invented, another time.

More, anon.
Prospero